The Highwaymen
Why you could soon be paying Wall Street investors, Australian bankers, and Spanish builders for the privilege of driving on American roads.
Many of you who drive between Connecticut & NY are used to toll roads, but for those of you who aren't, ...it's a pain in the tush. They built a huge toll hwy up here...Hwy 407. It was a huge highway that stretches across the north end of Toronto. It was supposed to relieve traffic congestion on Hwy 401... which it did do when it was first built. they allowed people to drive it for free for the first 6 months. It really speeded up getting across the city, and Hwy 401 drivers couldn't believe how much time was cut off their commute since less cars were on it. They let people drive it for free for 6 months, ...but the day they started charging, ...nobody wanted to pay to drive on the 407, so the 407 was pretty much empty while it was bumper to bumper and congestion on hwy 401. They spent a whole lot of tax payer money to build the highway, ...then they promptly turned around and sold the thing to a Spanish consortium. How's that for highway robbery? We built it, ...and now we have to pay to use it. If anything, Ontario residents should use it for free, and out-of-province users should have to pay, ...but they can't enforce out-of-province plates, so they come after Ontario drivers, because they can be gotten to.
Unlike the toll roads in the north east where you have to slow down and drop a quarter in etc., these use electronic transponders that recognize where you enter, and where you exit. For those without electronic transponders in their vehicles, the hwy takes pictures of your vehicles license plates, ...then they send you a bill in the mail. Only Ontario residents are required to pay the tolls. Isn't that a _itch. What's worse is... these guys can never get their records straight. People pay the bills, but they have no record of it, so they keep hounding & harrassing you, and in some cases ruining people's credit, and having their licenses suspended. Even when people pay the 407 tolls through electronic banking and can produce receipts, they still can't seem to mark the bills paid, so they keep harassing and demanding more more money. There have been some people who have even gone so far as to alter their license plates with tape, so that the letter 'F' looks like an 'E' before getting on the highway. There was one poor woman that kept getting huge Hwy 407 bills in the mail even though she had never driven it. Even though photos show the vehicle that drove the route was in fact a pickup truck, ...and she drove a little honda, ...they still kept harassing her for payment.
And God forbid you inherit the phone number of someone with a delinquent 407 bill, The company uses automatic phone dialers that will harass you daily filling up your voicemail until you are unable to recieve any messages at all, ...and trying to inform them that the person they are looking for is not at this phone number is futile.
There have been so many court decisions against them and their methods it's not even funny. The latest ruling I just heard on friday, required them to refund Ontario drivers across the board for years of over charges. Most people simply just pay the charges because it's easier to give them the money and end the harassment than to try to sort out the issue. Over time, ...that adds up to millions and millions of dollars. It's real highway robbery at it's finest.
